Deep Inside the Blues by Margo Cooper Book Review by Andrew Matthews When Noam asked me if I was interested in reviewing this book, I was both excited and nervous.  Excited, because I love music, books, writing and photography; nervous, because I do not consider myself to be much more than a novice when it comes to this essentially limitless genre of American music.  Further, the blues is so inextricably linked to the culture from which it emanates that I had serious doubts as to whether someone like me could capture what the book represents, and – at the very least – do it some semb ..read more

The Schiit Audio Aegir Stereo Power Amplifier: Soon to be a CHE? By Steve Graham   I’m ba-ack.  Sort of.   After one of history’s shortest retirements, I’ve discovered there is still a lot to share with you lovely audiophiles.  Recently, I revealed that my hearing had deteriorated.  When it comes to parsing the fine details of an audio component’s performance, I don’t, for the most part, feel confident passing judgement.  However, I find that my tinnitus is often less bothersome in the morning, so I like to do my “critical” listening then.  On days where ..read more

Sometime in February 2014, I decided to start this website, for fun and perhaps a bit of income. Predictably the income part didn’t work out, but it has been fun – I’ve met some great people, some have become close friends, and I’ve had a chance to lead and be part of a very capable team, that’s reviewed a pretty nice spread of interesting and desirable gear, and music. I think we’ve succeeded in focusing, to a large extent, on our local {Canadian} audio scene. Ten Years After We’ve reviewed speakers. We’ve reviewed some turntables. We’ve reviewed phono stages – lots of them. We’ve written som ..read more

Big Battle of the Brit Two-Ways: Spendor Audio Classic 3/1 Vs Graham Audio/Chartwell LS6   Spendor Audio Classic 3/1: MSRP $5600 (Canadian). This speaker’s dedicated stand (not reviewed) retails for $1625 Canadian per pair Graham Audio/Chartwell LS6: MSRP $5600 (approximate) Canadian, Factory Stands: $1500 (USD), Artesania Decoupling Footers: $750 (USD)   Verdict:  There is a sweet spot in two-way stand mounts, my favourite speaker design. That sweet spot embraces neither too large an enclosure nor too small. This review offers a comparison between two recognized leaders in the ..read more

by Noam Bronstein   Back in February I wrote about Ilios Steryannis‘s terrific concert here in Guelph – and I’m pleased to report that Ilios (and his ensemble) has released Babylonia Suite, a full album of the suite of songs the Toronto drummer/composer wrote in honour of his grandparents’ migratory journeys. As of this month, this release is on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music; and Ilios sent me a very nice CD copy for review (the CD is available through his website, see below). Listening to the CD It’s an excellent recording that sounds fresh and “live”. From the publicist: “Recorded ..read more

HOLY SCHMIDT! The Schmidt Audio Ubiquitous V.2 Omni Loudspeakers Review by Noam Bronstein   “What ARE those??”, asked a wide-eyed boy of 7 or 8 in the lobby of my building, as he watched Jon-George and I wheeling the Ubiquitous V.2’s out on their trolleys. You’re probably asking yourself the same thing. These are some unusual looking speakers. They’re omnipolar – and while that’s not a new idea, it is still rare to see them, even in boutique audio circles. Schmidt Audio is the work of Glenn Schmidt (builder/designer) and Jon-George Popowich (audio enthusiast and entrepreneur), with help f ..read more

Finalé’s F-300B EVO Amplifier – One Triode To Rule Them All? Review by Noam Bronstein   The 300B is the most widely-known of the triode tubes, at least in hifi circles. Its popularity is well deserved. Following the 300A (1935), the 300B tube was introduced in 1938 by Western Electric for use in movie theater systems, and while in its original production it gained a great reputation for quality and longevity. Now in its third iteration, the Western Electric 300B tube (made in Rossville, GA) is sold with a five year warranty, something that’s unheard of in the industry. Plate curves from t ..read more

REL T/Zero MK iii Subwoofer – Tiny but Mighty! Review by David Neice   MSRP: $650 (Canadian) Verdict: It looks like a toy and the cost is modest but it performs like a champ. In its favour – this subwoofer is lightning fast and is designed primarily for those audiophiles who generally hate subs but are inevitably faced with the need to use one (or two) at some point in their journey.  The output from the T/Zero MK iii is subtle and not at all boomy. REL’s design idea is to gently lift the lowest octave of sound and enhance the mid-bass reproduction thus giving an extra dose of ‘reali ..read more

Review by Jamie Gillies PSB Passif 50 Loudspeakers: Paul Barton’s Statement In Speaker Design Where Vintage Meets Modern   There are a lot of audiophile words to describe the sound of speakers.  We are in an era of terminology that reflects the philosophy of speaker designers and companies but some of those words are overused to the point of irrelevance.  When I read that a speaker offers clarity or detail or realism, or is said to be neutral or exciting or musical or warm, it always makes me pause to think what those words actually mean.  Theoretically, every speaker could ..read more

Unity Audio ‘Inner Soul’ Speakers Revisited and a Mini Interview with Omer Humayun  MSRP: $900 Canadian. Review by David Neice   Verdict: The main strength of the Unity Inner Soul V3, a stand mount single driver speaker, is resolution. Initially they come on as bracing and a bit in your face, but with time they also seem refreshingly direct and encourage the listener to plumb the depths of any recording.  The laws of physics declare that a four inch or so single driver is going to have some problems with deep bass, but the mid-bass is so fetching that the listener is lulled into ..read more